The new Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink takes a closer look at the economic reality and economic contributions of women in America. At a time when women are two-thirds of families’ breadwinners or co-breadwinners, one in three American women continue to live on the brink of poverty (defined here as 200 percent of the federal poverty line) or one lost job, medical emergency, or a broken-down car away from it.

How can this be? One answer is pretty straightforward – workplace policies have not caught up with the reality in which women live and work today. Just 50 years ago, the norm of family and worker constellations looked very different. More and more women today have dual roles as breadwinner and caregiver. Women are still more likely to work in “pink collar” occupations that pay less. And more family structures have shifted to women-headed households.

Cities and states are increasingly fighting for and winning on issues of paid leave. As this article notes, North Carolina has a long way to go. But why should North Carolina’s workers be left out simply by living in a state that struggles to modernize its relationship to women and work?